Space and Science

Interactions between early modern humans and Neanderthals were a lot more common than we thought

Ashley Strickland
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
5 minute read
Published 9:54 AM EDT, Wed April 14, 2021
This illustration shows the primitive arthropod Titanokorys gainesi from the front. This creature lived along the ocean floor half a billion years ago.
This illustration shows the primitive arthropod Titanokorys gainesi from the front. This creature lived along the ocean floor half a billion years ago.
Lars Fields/© Royal Ontario Museum
This is an artist's illustration of Tupandactylus navigans, a pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period 115 million years ago in what is now northeastern Brazil.
This is an artist's illustration of Tupandactylus navigans, a pterosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period 115 million years ago in what is now northeastern Brazil.
Courtesy Victor Beccari
Fossils helped researchers discover that early mammals may have been more diverse than previously thought. The newly discovered species include (left to right) Conacodon hettingeri, Miniconus jeanninae and Beornus honeyi.
Fossils helped researchers discover that early mammals may have been more diverse than previously thought. The newly discovered species include (left to right) Conacodon hettingeri, Miniconus jeanninae and Beornus honeyi.
Banana Art Studio
The cremated remains of a young woman (left) and her twin babies (right) were recovered from a 4,000-year-old grave in Hungary.
The cremated remains of a young woman (left) and her twin babies (right) were recovered from a 4,000-year-old grave in Hungary.
Cavazzuti et al, 2021/Eureka
This virtual reconstruction shows the position of a fossil in a burial pit. The toddler was laid to rest 78,000 years ago on a pillow in a cave in eastern Kenya. This is thought to be the oldest human burial ever found in Africa.
This virtual reconstruction shows the position of a fossil in a burial pit. The toddler was laid to rest 78,000 years ago on a pillow in a cave in eastern Kenya. This is thought to be the oldest human burial ever found in Africa.
Jorge Gonzalez/Elena Santos
This is a skeletal mount of Homotherium serum from Friesenhahn Cave, on display in the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
This is a skeletal mount of Homotherium serum from Friesenhahn Cave, on display in the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
Kenneth Bader
This is the second lower molar of a modern human found in Bacho Kiro Cave in Bulgaria that was associated with tools from Initial Upper Palaeolithic about 45,000 years ago.
This is the second lower molar of a modern human found in Bacho Kiro Cave in Bulgaria that was associated with tools from Initial Upper Palaeolithic about 45,000 years ago.
Rosen Spasov, MPI-EVA Leipzig
This photo captures the Ewass Oldupa archeological site in the Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania. Stone tools that date back 2 million years ago were recently uncovered at the site.
This photo captures the Ewass Oldupa archeological site in the Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania. Stone tools that date back 2 million years ago were recently uncovered at the site.
Michael Petraglia
This image shows the Cook House (right) and the Earthwatch roundhouse reconstructions (left) prior to their dismantling and excavation at the Castell Henllys Iron Age site in Wales.
This image shows the Cook House (right) and the Earthwatch roundhouse reconstructions (left) prior to their dismantling and excavation at the Castell Henllys Iron Age site in Wales.
Harold Mytum
This is an artist's illustration of Adalatherium hui, an early mammal that lived on Madagascar 66 million years ago.
This is an artist's illustration of Adalatherium hui, an early mammal that lived on Madagascar 66 million years ago.
Andrey Atuchin
This artist's illustration shows Triceratops and juvenile tyrannosaurs facing off near the end of the Cretaceous Period 67 million years ago.
This artist's illustration shows Triceratops and juvenile tyrannosaurs facing off near the end of the Cretaceous Period 67 million years ago.
Matt Zeher/North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
This mastodon fossil is on display at the American Museum of Natural History. A new study using mastodon DNA has suggested the animals migrated many times across North America during fluctuations in climate and environment.
This mastodon fossil is on display at the American Museum of Natural History. A new study using mastodon DNA has suggested the animals migrated many times across North America during fluctuations in climate and environment.
American Museum of Natural History